I remember the first time I
saw a boy’s pants sagging… I tapped him on the shoulder and said “Your
draws are showing” with a giggle as I walked on to the corner store with
some of my friends. Little did I know that I would soon be bombarded
not only with the unwanted peeks of the tops of guys’ boxers, but it
would soon degenerate to seeing the entire paid-covered asses of guys
everywhere with no end in sight.
I’ve had the conversation so many times over the years… Sometimes with
young women equally disgusted with a trend that should have long passed…
sometimes with young men who couldn’t quite understand why their fellow
men hadn’t grown out of it as they had. It wasn’t until I discussed it
with my mother that I finally had a different perspective.
Camouflage. The answer that I had long awaited. Self defense. These are
phrases my mother used to explain why, although equally tired of seeing
it, she couldn’t claim any level of outrage, or suggest any kind of bad
parenting. She cited the many things she did and purchased against her
own better judgment for my brother believing that his life, his
well-being was safer with than without. Perspective really is
everything… and in today’s climate of bullying and social media
harassment, I might be swayed to shrug my shoulders and simply assume
that the young people continuing a played out trend are simply trying to
fit in so they don’t fall victim to the cruelty of their peers.
However, I am reminded of the fact that these same young people are now
falling victim to a much greater threat than teasing…
It is open season on young men who “fit the profile.” The predators that
hunt them will be allowed to claim their own insecurity as their
shield, and one after another of boys imitating thugs will fall prey to
those who set out to “Stand their Ground” against an imaginary
assailant. When seen by everyday folks, they won’t see kids just trying
to fit in: they’ll see thugs and gangsters. They’ll see potentially
violent criminals out to steal their cars and rape their daughters. They
won’t see people: they’ll see vicious animals… rabid beasts that need
to be put down.
I for one am tired of seeing people’s asses hanging out of their jeans. I
am tired of watching these guys walk funny because their pants are so
low the belt they’re using to hold them up is more decoration than tool.
Explaining the history of men in prisons needing to advertise their
willingness falls on deaf ears because the intended recipients of the
message are too busy listening to whichever rapper they have blasting
through their beats audio head phones. I wonder if young Trayvon or
Jordan lived long enough to hear the ambulances en route to their murder
scenes? I wonder if their mothers—like mine—thought they were
protecting them by allowing them to ‘fit in’ with the boys? I wonder if
they might do something differently if it meant that their sons would
still be alive.